Best Hotel Restaurants in the Dominican Republic

We've stayed -- and dined -- at the D.R.'s best hotels, so great food is the No. 1 priority for making it onto this list. But in addition to fresh ingredients and well-executed entrees, we also give due credit to exceptional service and unique, elegant settings.

Casa de Campo comes with 22 superb restaurants throughout its massive property. But the most noteworthy is the award-winning Beach Club restaurant, a beachfront, candlelit outpost of the world-famous Le Cirque French restaurants, found in New York, Las Vegas, and Paris. In addition, La Piazzetta serves up delicious homemade pasta inside Altos de Chavon, an exact replica of a 16th-century European village. Plus, all restaurants have children's menus and high chairs.

The 55-room Sivory boutique hotel has three premier restaurants on-site. Dining options include Asian fusion at Tau, Mediterranean at Laveranda, and upscale French cuisine at Gourmond, which has a wine cellar stocked with 8,000 bottles. Blu, a poolside bar, also serves tasty tapas during the day. Dining can be expensive -- a single small box of Frosted Flakes costs $8 -- but all-inclusive meal plans are also available.

Tortuga Bay, also inside the same upscale resort and condo complex as the Punta Cana Hotel, has another Oscar de la Renta-designed restaurant, Bamboo. The unique menu blends modern cuisine with Mediterranean influences and a variety of innovative fusion dishes. The buffet breakfast -- with gourmet coffees and teas -- is superb, but even the ordinary concoctions, like a prosciutto sandwich for lunch, uses only top-quality ingredients.

Casa Colonia has two of the best restaurants in the D.R. Veranda serves breakfast and lunch, and the upscale Lucia serves French-Caribbean fusion cuisine. Lucia's trio of crab on yucca-cake tarts and scampi-style Caribbean lobster are flavorful and inventive. Breakfast at Veranda is alfresco, so guests sit under umbrellas on a deck with sweeping views of the ocean.

Natura Cabanas has two low-key restaurants on-site: Karaya serves breakfast and healthy lunch fare, and dinner is served at Natura, which features fusion dishes focused on the region's fresh seafood and produce. Both restaurants are near the beach and offer tranquil views and ocean breezes. The "Shrimp Natura" -- sauteed shrimp tossed with a special mix of curry and a creamy rum-based sauce -- is among the specialties. Plus, the breakfast is included in the room rate.

The all-inclusive Be Live Hamaca has one restaurant that requires guests to pay extra. But it's worth it. Guests dine on the water (literally) at El Pelicano, a seafood restaurant propped up on stilts. Fresh grilled fish specialties and complete lobster dinners rival the incredible views of the coral barrier reef.